About Egmont Honey
About Egmont Honey
IT BEGAN IN 2008
Egmont Honey began from humble beginnings. A beehive may seem like an unusual present, but for committed conservationist Toby Annabell, it was perfect. Gifted by his son James back in 2008, this hive sparked a passion for authentic mānuka honey and a thriving family business. Fast forward to today, where James and the now 50+ team export to over 200 countries and territories around the world, proudly supplying global brands with Pure New Zealand Honey.
WHERE DOES THE NAME EGMONT HONEY COME FROM?
We took the name from the area and National Park that surrounds the towering mountain (Maunga) that overlooks the entire region.
Our Logo depicts the mountain called Taranaki in the Māori language. The Māori word tara means "mountain peak", and naki is thought to come from ngaki, meaning "shining", a reference to the snow-clad winter nature of the upper slopes. It was also named Pukehaupapa and Pukeonaki by iwi who lived in the region in ancient times. The Indigenous Māori people of New Zealand have huge respect for this beautiful mountain.
The wild and rugged Taranaki Region is our home and home to our bees, something we are proud to share with the world.
OUR FOUNDERS
James Annabell
Founder & CEO
James has been in the honey industry for some time, and fell into his first role while based in Hong Kong playing professional rugby. During his time abroad he developed the Asian market for two of New Zealand's largest honey companies.
“After building up a significant number of bee hives with Toby I decided to leave the more corporate companies to concentrate 100% of my time on developing the Egmont Honey brand and working with our private label customers.”
James now oversees a large team based in Taranaki, and continues to drive growth and innovation with just as much passion as when the business was first formed.
Toby Annabell
Co-founder and Operations Director
Toby has over 40 years of experience in the rural sector. He grew up on a sheep and beef farm in the Waitotara Valley which is now home to thousands of bee hives collecting Mānuka Honey.
Toby went on to become a sheep and beef farmer himself and recently sold an agricultural contracting business to focus solely on sustainable honey production for Egmont Honey.
“I am passionate about producing honey for our consumers. I enjoy the rewards of producing a sustainable product and increasing the bee population with our aggressive expansion of hive numbers."
